Such an arrangement is described in German Patent No. 38 12 633 A1. According to this related art, a rotary transformer is used, for example, for signal transmission between a controller and an air bag built into the steering wheel of a vehicle. The functionality of an air bag must be tested on an ongoing basis to ensure that it is ready to operate in an emergency situation. For this purpose, the resistance of the squib, which should typically be between 1.8 .OMEGA. and 2.5 .OMEGA., is periodically measured. The transmission of signals using inductively coupled windings of the rotary transformer depends on the distance between the two windings, i.e., the size of the gap between the pot-type cores of the windings. Assembly and manufacturing tolerances of the steering wheel, on which the secondary-side pot-type core of the rotary transformer is installed, can distort the measured resistance value of the squib. In order to avoid such measuring signal distortions, the aforementioned related art provides an oscillating circuit on the secondary side of the rotary transformer, which is excited by a control signal from the primary side. After the control signal is switched off, the decay of the response signals of the oscillating circuit is retransmitted back to the primary side and the secondary side resistance is obtained from the time constant of the decaying response signal.